Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran has averagely imported some six million liters of gasoline per day during the first three months of the current Iranian fiscal year (started on March 21), Mohsen Ghamsari, international affairs director at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said.
He emphasized that the Islamic Republic only imports gasoline conforming to Euro 4 and its domestic consumption standards.
Iran's average gasoline imports stood at 4.5 million liters per day during last fiscal year, indicating a decline by 122 percent compared to daily 10 million liters of gasoline import in preceding year.
Ghamsari said that Iran faces problems for gasoline import due to international sanctions against the country, the oil ministry's official SHANA news agency reported June 15.
There are various problems on gasoline import including payment mechanism, insurance and transportation, the official said, adding the administration uses different channels to overcome the problems without unveiling further details.
It was earlier forecasted that Iran's average gasoline import to reach seven to 10 million liters per day during current year as a result of increased domestic consumption and need for overhaul in the countries' refineries.
Iran is expecting to inaugurate new refinery projects by the end of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 20, 2016), whereby it will increase its gasoline production capacity from the current 62 ml/d to about 80 ml/d.
The country used to import 40 percent of its needed gasoline by 2009. But the international sanctions forced it to produce gasoline domestically by adding lead or some poisonous chemical catalysts such as MTBE to the product. MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether is an oxygenate added to gasoline to boost octane levels and to help fuel burn cleaner. While it's been replaced by ethanol in the U.S. after it contaminated drinking water, other countries still use it. Its offensive odor and taste can render water undrinkable, while its health effects are unclear.
The administration of President Hassan Rouhani ordered to stop the distribution of substandard gasoline.
Edited by CN
Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh